Auxiliary gas system for automobiles



March 13, 1956 c TT 2,737,937

AUXILIARY GAS SYSTEM FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed April 18, 1955 Fig IN VEN TOR.

Clarence OMofi/vews X 6.1% Affy United States Patent AUXILIARY GAS SYSTEM FOR AUTOMOBILES Clarence D. Matthews, Vallejo, Calif. Application April 18, 1955, Serial No. 501,997 3 Claims. (Cl. 123-421) This invention relates to improvements in auxiliary gas systems for automobiles.

The principal object of this invention is to provide auxiliary means for conducting gasoline fumes to the intake of an engine.

A further object is to produce a device of this character which may be installed in an ordinary automobile without materially altering its construction.

A further object is to produce a device of this character which is economical to manufacture and relatively easy to install.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent during the course of the following description.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and in which like numbers are employed to designate like parts throughout the same,

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of my invention as the same would be applied to an ordinary automobile;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view, partly in cross section, showing the location of my rotary plates in the air cleaner; and

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of one of the plates.

The ordinary internal combustion engine has a carburetor for the purpose of furnishing to the engine a mixture of gas and air which is in turn delivered to the intake so that when the gas is compressed in the cylinders of the engine an explosion and consequently power will be derived therefrom.

The ordinary carburetor is very inefficient for the reason that it cannot be accurately adjusted for different speeds of the engine. Consequently, at times there is a considerable amount of raw gasoline sucked into the engine, which tends to foul the plugs, dilute the lubricating oil and consume unnecessary amounts of gasoline.

Applicant has therefore devised a means whereby the explosive mixture is derived from the fumes in a gasoline tank, over the contents of which air is passed, thus creating an explosive mixture free of raw gasoline.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 5 designates the engine block of an internal combustion engine, the numeral 6 the carburetor, and the numeral 7 the customary air cleaner.

At 8 I have shown a gasoline tank and at 9 the radiator of the car.

All of the parts thus far enumerated are standard equipment on all motor vehicles.

My invention consists in attaching to the tank 8 a pipe 11, the opposite end of which communicates with an intake air cleaner 12 mounted preferably directly ahead of the radiator so that forward movement of the car will cause air to be forcibly moved into and through the pipe 11 and into the tank 8.

An outlet pipe 13 connects to the top of the tank 8 and to the side of the air cleaner 7 at a point slightly below the apertured plates to be later described. In the top of the air cleaner I position a pair of apertured plates 14 and 16, these plates having coinciding apertures 17 formed therethrough.

The plate 14 is secured to the air cleaner 7 while the plate 16 is rotatably held thereto by a pivot pin 18. The plate 16 has a handle 19 which extends through the side of the cleaner and is attached by a rod to a suitable lever in the cab of the vehicle.

The gasoline pipe 22 extends from the pump 23 and has a shut off valve 24 and a pull rod 26 for actuating the valve 24.

The result of this construction is that under starting conditions, the apertures 17 in both plates are aligned so that air from the air intake 7 may pass through the carburetor and past the jets thereof in the customary manner. At that time the valve 24 will be open so that gasoline will flow from the tank 8 through the pump 23 and so to the carburetor.

As soon as the car is under motion, the operator moves the rods 21 and 26 so as to close the valves 24 and the apertures 17 so that air now is sucked by the engine through the intake pipe 13, displacing air and gasoline fumes from the tank 8 and permitting fresh air to enter through the funnel 12 and pipe 11 to the gasoline tank 8.

It is of course understood that the valves 24 and the plate 16 may be so adjusted that a small amount of gasoline may be drawn from the carburetor to augment that drawn through the pipe 13. At this time the ports 17 will of course not be completely closed, thus making a very flexible arrangement which will accommodate for any conditions which may occur.

It will therefore be apparent that by blowing air over the top of the gasoline in the tank 8, that fumes will be picked up and delivered to the combustion chamber of the engine so that power may be derived therefrom.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same and that various changes relative to the material, size, shape and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination with an internal combustion engine having an air intake and carburetor, air filter, and a remotely positioned gasoline tank, of a pipe connecting to the upper portion of the gasoline tank and having its other end connected to said air filter, and means for closing said air filter whereby gasoline fumes will be drawn from said tank into said air filter.

2. In combination with an internal combustion engine having a carburetor connected to the intake manifold of said engine and having an air filter connected to said carburetor, and a remotely positioned gasoline tank, of a pipe communicating with the top of said gasoline tank and the top portion of said air filter, a pair of discs positioned in said air filter at a point above the intake of' said pipe to said air filter, said plates having apertures formed thereon, one of said plates being movable to suecessively align said apertures whereby the flow of air entering said filter may be controlled to said carburetor.

3. In combination with an internal combustion engine having a carburetor connected to the intake manifold of said engine and having an air filter connected to said carburetor, and a remotely positioned gasoline tank, of a pipe communicating with the top of said gasoline tank and the top portion of said air filter a pair of discs posi tioned in said air filter and at a point above the intake of said pipe to said air filter said plates having apertures formed thereon, one of said plates being movable to successively align said apertures whereby the flow of air entering said filter may be controlled to said carburetor, and an air inlet pipe having a filter connected to said gasoline tank, said filter serving to deliver air to said pipe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,202,111 Shivers Oct. 24, 1916 

